2026 Bill Tracker
Each year, The Parents’ Campaign closely monitors and takes a position on selected education bills. Priority bills for the 2026 Legislative Session will be added below as they move through the legislative process.
ACTIVE
SB 2001 – Teacher Pay Raise. Includes a $2,000 across-the-board salary increase beginning in the 2026-2027 school year for certified and assistant teachers (increases pay for assistant teachers from current $17,000 annually to $19,000 annually); also expresses legislative intent to provide a $2,000 salary increase to community college and university faculty; Chairman DeBar noted that he hopes the final bill will deliver a raise closer to $5,000 for K-12 teachers.
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/6/2026
- Passed by Senate Education Committee, 1/6/2026
- Passed by Senate: 52 yeas, 0 nays, 1/7/2026 See vote
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill with amendments to provide a minimum $5,000 salary increase for K-12 teachers.
SB 2002 – Public School Choice. Provides for public to public school choice by removing the sending school district’s authority to deny a transfer to another district; receiving district has autonomy to accept or reject student transfer; receiving district can charge reasonable tuition fees to transferring student in lieu of ad valorem taxes (fees can only be charged for students whose families do not reside within a district); MHSAA retains authority to determine transferring students’ eligibility for athletics and activities.
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/6/2026
- Passed by Senate Education Committee, 1/6/2026
- Passed by Senate: 33 yeas, 19 nays, 1/7/2026 See vote
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
SB 2003 – Retirees Return to Classroom. Expands incentives for retirees to return to teaching; allows any retired public employee who obtains a standard teaching license (via alternate route or otherwise) in Mississippi to begin teaching full-time in a public school 45 or more days following retirement, while continuing to receive retirement benefits; increases pay to 65 percent (currently 50 percent) of 125 percent of salary schedule; allows any district in the state to participate (currently limited to critical teacher shortage areas).
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/6/2026
- Passed by Senate Education Committee, 1/6/2026
- Passed by Senate: 50 yeas, 2 nays, 1/7/2026 See vote
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
SB 2242 – Mississippi Math Act. Committee substitute bill establishes the Moving Mathematics in Mississippi (M3) program to include: expansion of math coaches in grades K-12; a math screener and intervention protocol for grades K-5; MDE to invite districts to participate, prioritizing based on achievement gaps, rural access, and other equity factors; an algebra readiness indicator to inform placement, acceleration, and if needed, an individual math plan (IMP) prior to entering middle school math courses; and other provisions.
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/14/2026
- Committee substitute passed by Senate Education Committee, 1/22/2026
- Passed by Senate, 2/5/2026
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
SB 2487 – Literacy Initiative for Grades 4-8. Provides for an expansion of Mississippi’s literacy initiative into the middle grades. The committee substitute for SB 2487 requires: universal literacy screeners to be administered three times per year to public school students in grades 4-8 statewide; individual reading plan (IRP) for each student with a reading deficiency to include intervention strategies based on the science of reading; system of support provided by MDE to school and district instructional leaders, content area teachers, literacy coaches, dyslexia therapists, interventionists, tutors, and other identified personnel across content areas in grades 4-8 to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to support students with reading difficulties; each school board shall employ at least one reading specialist, interventionist, or dyslexia therapist in any school serving students in grades 4-8; retention in grade 8 of any student who scores in the lowest achievement level on the reading portion of the grade 8 state annual assessment or approved alternate standardized assessment, with limited good cause exemptions allowed for certain promotions to grade 9; the Legislature shall provide sufficient funding for implementation; and other provisions.
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/19/2026
- Committee substitute passed by Senate Education Committee, 1/22/2026
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
HB 1126 – Teacher Pay Raise. Committee substitute bill (499 pages) includes a $5,000 across-the-board salary increase for certified teachers beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, with an additional $3,000 increase for licensed special education teachers employed by public schools in a special education instructional capacity. Brings forward code sections related to assistant teacher pay but currently does not include a salary increase for assistants. Brings forward broad portions of Mississippi code for unknown revisions, including code sections for Mississippi Student Funding Formula; sets base student cost for FY2027 at $7,481.68; makes changes to School Attendance Officer program; reduces state employee years of service for retirement in Tier 3 from 35 to 30; sets cap on superintendent salaries; establishes a temporary performance-conditioned supplemental program for D- and F-rated districts; and other provisions. See summary from House Education Committee
- Referred to House Education and Appropriations Committees, 1/19/2026
- Committee substitute passed by House Education Committee, 2/3/2026
- Passed by House Appropriations Committee, 2/3/2026
- Amended by House to set base student cost for FY2027 at $7,447.37 and to extend national board supplement to occupational therapists and school psychologists, 2/4/2026
- Passed by House as amended: 122 yeas, 0 nays, 2/4/2026 See vote
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill with amendments to remove provisions unrelated to teacher pay.
HB 1234 – School Accountability Dashboard. Creates new accountability “dashboards” on which public schools would be required to publish detailed financial and academic data, adding new layers of accountability to public schools even as publicly-funded private schools are protected from public scrutiny or accountability of any kind. Financial dashboard reporting required of public schools would include monthly reports of individual line-item expenditures by date, purpose, and vendor; contracts by vendor, purpose, and payment; monthly revenue data by fund and source, including beginning and ending balances; aggregate staff and personnel expenditures; and more. Academic dashboard reporting required of public schools would include, in addition to school and district letter grades: grades 3 and 8 reading and math proficiency and growth; truancy and absenteeism rates; dropout rates; graduation rates; student-to-teacher ratios; college-, career-, and workforce-readiness metrics; college placement rates; job placement rates; military placement rates; average ACT and ACT WorkKeys scores; special class offerings; college- and career-readiness index scores; number of teachers with advanced degrees/certifications; number of teachers with industry experience; teacher turnover rates; and the number of long-term substitute teachers. Mandates that a school district’s formula funding allocation shall be withheld for failure to timely report fiscal and personnel data, and that noncompliance shall result in an accreditation violation. Note: School choice legislation specifically prohibits the state from requiring all such information of private schools that receive state funding.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/19/2026
- Committee substitute passed by House Education Committee, 1/28/2026
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
HB 1606 – Excellence for All Pilot Project. Attempts to mitigate the teacher shortage by improving teacher retention; directs MDE to provide for a career ladder for teachers and provide additional supports and incentives in pilot districts.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/19/2026
- Passed by House Education Committee, 1/29/2026
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
DEAD
HB 2 – Mississippi Education Freedom Act. 553-page school choice bill that provides vouchers for private school tuition and for homeschoolers without the standards and accountability required of public schools; states specifically that, while private schools would receive the same base cost amount that public schools receive, private voucher schools cannot be required to alter their admissions practices, take state assessments, or participate in the state accountability model. The bill also includes public school choice with capacity reporting obligations for public schools; the Tim Tebow Act, which allows homeschoolers to participate in public school activities without being subject to the same requirements as public school students; an adolescent literacy initiative; a new math program; charter school expansion to all school districts regardless of rating and loosening of restrictions; NBCT salary supplements for charter school teachers; a reduction in public school funding formula allocations by removing pre-k students from enrollment counts; an assistant teacher pay raise; consolidation of Copiah County and Hazlehurst school districts; and other provisions. See more details.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/7/2026
- Committee substitute bill (446 pages) revises provision expanding charter schools to allow charters in any district within which a D- or F-rated school exists and deletes provision that changes the funding formula to remove pre-k students from enrollment counts; other provisions remain, 1/14/2026
- Committee substitute passed by House Education Committee: 13 yeas, 11 nays, 1/14/2026 See vote
- Passed by House: 61 yeas, 59 nays, 1 absent, 1 present/not voting, 1/15/2026 See vote
- Held on a motion to reconsider, 1/15/2026
- Motion to reconsider tabled, 1/20/2026
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/21/2026
- Failed to pass Senate Education Committee, 2/3/2026
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
HB 1367 – School Nutrition. Ensures that all students receive a school lunch; prohibits schools from withholding lunch from students who can’t pay or otherwise ostracizing them; and other nutrition-related provisions.
- Referred to House Education and Appropriations Committees, 1/19/2026
- Passed by House Education Committee, 1/29/2026
- Died in committee, 2/3/2026
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
